Spindrift2017

Plenty of years I’d have been looking forward to a prospective Easter snowfall due to lack of lowland snowfall during the winter months, but this year I’m not so sure! Very pleasant day near Lanark today with birds chirping and a brown hare lolloping along the margins of a field - felt like Spring had arrived!

A nice day for a walk in the Pentland Hills yesterday, with still quite a lot of snow around. Today, not quite so nice!...

I think there may well be snow patches surviving longer than usual on west-facing aspects this year, given that some areas such as the Cairngorms seem to have had blizzard conditions on generally easterly winds for about a week now, and there was heavy snow from the north-east winds in December. Before I started properly paying attention to mountain weather, I assumed that easterly winds filled the windward east-facing aspects of the hills, whereas they actually drive huge quantities of snow across plateaux and summits into gullies and corries on the lee slopes, and don’t fill the windward areas to the same extent. Of course, southerly and westerly aspects lose snow more quickly than east and north-facing aspects, and the main long-lying and ‘perennial’ snow sites are on the latter. Given the relative lack this winter of big westerly/south-westerly storms with rain at low levels, but copious quantities of snow at high altitude, it will be interesting to see how the usual long-lying snow sites fare. For the reasons you give, there should be interest long into the back end of the year, though.

Snow is on the way out here, after sleet, rain and temperatures soaring to 2C, with a distinct sense of things returning to normal. Have mixed feelings - sad to see things back to looking a bit dreich and mundane but no doubt there are lots of people in rural parts who would be glad to get back to normal. Some sunshine would be nice now, but it looks in short supply this week.

Would be worth a look look at the Pentlands webcam if there is no northwards correction (sorry Edinburgh folk). It’s already looking pretty good up there!

Bumped into these fellas down at Chatelherault Country Park this morning - Messrs. Livingstone, Wallace and Owen if we're being formal!

The operators of Cairngorm, Glenshee and The Lecht ski centre must be scunnered seeing all this snow pile into the central belt and the Borders. A few days ago it looked as though it would be them catching some of the heaviest snowfalls - looks like they have caught relatively little.

Frightening stuff about the warmth in the Arctic. Hopefully there is an element of it being a freak one-off warming, but the overall trend is alarming.

Another heavy burst of snow has just passed through Have just seen a fox in the snow, so having a mellow moment listening to this!

If it’s any consolation, it’s stopped now. East through north-easterly winds are one of the few directions that can actually be good for snow here, with a strong enough flow. I expect it’ll happen again in about another 20-odd years! ?

Yeah, big clouds of powdery snow blowing around in the Hamilton Road - not something you see every day! Just drove over from Bothwell to Motherwell and it was pelting down at a fair rate. Car (front wheel drive with non-winter tyres) just failed to get up a tiny slope and will probably be staying stationary for a while now. Using the carefully-calibrated scientific method of sticking my index finger into the snow, it goes most of the way to the knuckle so probably 8 or 9 cm already.

Beinn Heasgarnich, Perthshire, March 2014 Glencoe, November 2008 Pentland Hills, near Edinburgh, December 2012 Broad Law, Tweedsmuir, March 2012 Lochnagar from the south, May 2012 Andrew Gannel Hill (Ochil Hills), January 2010 Scots Pines, Glenmuir (Ayrshire), December 2017

Carmichael, South Lanarkshire, January 2016 Glenshee, February 2014 Ruins of Jerah farmhouse, Ochil Hills, January 2013 Beinn Fhionnlaidh, Appin, November 2010

Mountain weather forecast for south-east highlands mentions heavy snow, whiteout and risk of lightning. Obviously conditions down in Strathyre, (sheltered by the side of Loch Lubnaig with high hills to the east) won’t be as intense, but I’d be surprised if there wasn’t a decent amount of snow. http://www.mwis.org.uk/scottish-forecast.asp?fa=SH&d=2018-02-28 Definitely not a day for going up a hill!

I’ve just had a look at that! I don’t think it’s even as much as 10 miles south, Larkhall barely squeezes in. I’ve stocked up on extra food, equipped the car with snow shovel and extra clothes/food and filled up with petrol (not that I’ll be going anywhere if the forecast comes to fruition), so it’ll either end up being about 2cm or it’ll be a total whiteout.

The joys of a spell 'working from home' allowed me to sample some proper snow down in the Badlands of the Ayrshire/Lanarkshire border (Glenbuck) today. The sprinkling at home melted when the sun appeared, and I'm expecting mainly rain and sleet tomorrow, although places with altitude should get a pasting!

Yip. Spotted a few flakes blowing in the wind as the very edge of the last band came through - may be luckier with the next band? These Ayrshire coastal folk, hogging all the snaw as usual!

Just drove from the West End of Glasgow out to Motherwell with light dandruff-like snow failing to lie. Don’t think this is going to be the snowfall of the decade as the band of slightly heavier stuff looks quite narrow. Still think there might be something more substantial to come some time over the next couple of weeks though.

I do believe I’m in the other central belt green patch there! There must be a big hill to the north-west sheltering this place that I’ve never noticed before Maybe the old bing in Bellshill...

It’s apparently a weather station housing radar equipment, having been relocated there about 10 years ago when they built a wind farm on the site of the old weather station.

Managed to sneak out for a Friday walk in the Campsies today. Was milder than expected but enough snow to feel pleasingly wintry - mighty drifts up to calf height! Hopefully the radar station in the pics will be detecting at least some snow this week. I look forward to seeing pics/reports on here but am expecting light snow at best from Tuesday’s front and possibly rain/sleet on Thursday at this low attitude. Still plenty of time though - you won’t get any winter’s over chat from me!

I see the Aviemore sled dog event is on this weekend. A pity it wasn't last weekend as it looks like it will be on wheels rather than proper sleds

Well, that was better than expected in these parts today!

Similar here - filling in the gaps, albeit temporarily.

Too early to say really, though certainly more promising than last year. A big factor is whether there is a cold and snowy spring with snow continuing to accumulate, or a warmer spring with prolonged melting starting early. From what I can tell, (not really having been in the Highlands much this winter) there have been some quite heavy falls, but nothing exceptional, although the recent snowfall on westerly winds will have helped redistribute snow into the east-facing hollows and gullies which often retain snow longest. There haven’t really been many of the big winter storms with copious rain at low levels but large quantities of heavily drifting snow at altitude yet so far this winter - these are often more effective at building up snow at altitude than colder set-ups. Freeze-thaw cycles also help snow retention in the long run too as re-frozen snow is more resilient. The freezing levels have obviously been low recently - not sure yet whether the expected milder period next week will deliver freeze-thaw cycles (hopefully) rather than an extended period of thawing.